국회의원의 연임 제한에 관한 연구

The 300 members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea are elected representatives of the Korean people tasked with reaching decisions on national issues and freely deciding what will benefit the entire nation. They may be influenced by but are not bound by instructions or orders from voters, social groups, political parties, or other government branches, and make their decisions based on their factual knowledge, wisdom, and independent judgment. They serve four-year terms; currently, there is no limit to how many times they can be re-elected. Recently, some have suggested that there should be a limit on the number of consecutive terms held by National Assembly members. Proponents of the change argue that many lawmakers are failing to put Korean citizens’ interests ahead of their own: secure in their lengthy consecutive terms, many lawmakers seem more intent on maintaining or expanding their own power through political infighting than on serving the general public. Setting term limits could initiate constitutional debates on several issues. The core question is whether introducing such a legal device would infringe the principle of democracy. Without first considering proper measures to deal with the underlying issues—“professional politicians” who are representatives in title only, the increasing threat to free and fair competition in elections, and the undemocratic, authoritarian structure and administration of political parties—any discussions of political rights will be merely token efforts, making it hard to successfully realize representative democracy. Against this backdrop, this thesis focuses on these issues and examines whether it is constitutionally justifiable to limit the consecutive terms of National Assembly members by analyzing the normative significance, actual conditions, and interrelations of Korea’s representative democracy, election system, and political parties.